


Count Your Blessings

by soongtypeprincess



Series: RanSid Gay Dads AU [8]
Category: Outcast (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gay Parents, M/M, Religious Discussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 22:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13086306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soongtypeprincess/pseuds/soongtypeprincess
Summary: The thunderstorm causes the lights to go out during supper, but it's still a typical night in the Anderson house.





	Count Your Blessings

**Author's Note:**

> Megan is seven, Kyle is ten.
> 
> I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS!!

The heavy pattering sound of rain reverberated in the kitchen as it bounced off the roof of the Anderson home. The family sat in the dining room with bowls full of homemade broccoli and potato soup and fresh bread rolls. Their heads were bowed as John said the prayer.

“Lord God, we thank You for this food that we are about to receive. May it nourish our bodies just as Your Spirit nourishes our soul with the bread of Life. Help us do our part in spreading kindness and good deeds. Also, Lord, I pray that you bless the dinner roll that my son just took a big bite out of when he thought I wasn’t lookin’.”

Megan giggled as John glanced over at Kyle who sat with a big bite of bread bulging in his cheek.

“We ask all these things in Jesus’ name, amen,” John concluded. 

Kyle swallowed his bite. “Sorry, Pop. I was really hungry!” he said before taking a big drink of milk. 

“That’s okay, son,” John said with a smile.

Sidney smiled, too, before taking a bite of potato. He glanced over at Megan who was looking at her lap. She seemed distracted from her meal. “Megan,” he said, “are you still prayin’?”

Megan’s head snapped up and she put her attention back to her bowl of soup. “Nope,” she said. She reached for her spoon but suddenly jumped in her chair as if startled. She looked back down at her lap, moving her right arm.

“Do you have a bug?” John asked.

“No, Papa, I don’t have a bug,” she assured him in an innocent voice.

“Yeah, she does,” Kyle stated before digging into his potato soup.

“Bubba, you tattle-tale!” she declared.

“I told her not to bring it inside,” Kyle declared, his mouth full.

“Put it outside, please,” John ordered.

“But he’ll drown in the rain!”

“What did I say, Megan?”

Megan raised the hand that had been in her lap to show him the tiny bug resting in her palm. “It’s just a doodle bug! He don’t bite!”

“Megan…” he warned, looking over the top of his glasses at her.

She let out a huff and pouted her bottom lip as she rose from her chair. “Yes, sir…” she mumbled. She opened the back door and gently set the bug onto the patio so that the winds from outside wouldn’t blow him away.

She plopped into her seat again and slurped up her soup. 

“Thank you, sweetie,” John said.

“Megan,” Sidney scolded, “you’ve been told several times to stop bringing insects into the house.” He blew on a small chunk of potato in his spoon to make it cool.

“You’re just as bad as she is, Sid,” John pointed his spoon at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he put the bit of potato into his hand and fed it to Bella, their 8-year-old lab mix who was sitting under the table.

They all laughed until the lights suddenly flickered above them.

“Storm wasn’t supposed to be that bad, was it?” Sidney asked, looking at the ceiling.

John shook his head. “Could be the wind. Sounds like it’s pickin’ up.” 

“Will it flood, Pop?” Kyle wondered.

“Nah, son. But we may get some thunder.”

“What if we get a tornado?” Megan asked, her voice wavering.

John laughed. “There’s not gonna be a tornado, baby.”

Kyle leaned closer to the table and looked right at his sister. “Maybe it’ll be a…Sharknado! Arrrghhhh!!”

“Eeeeeeeeeee!!!” Megan screamed dramatically.

The kids giggled with delight, but their dads were confused. 

“A what?” Sidney said.

“What the hell is a Sharknado?” John added.

“It’s a movie,” Kyle explained, “about this tornado that starts above the ocean and it’s so strong that it pulls up all the sharks from way, way down deep and they become part of the tornado and they eat people as the tornado spins around!”

Sidney put down his spoon. “And when did you watch this movie?”

Kyle bit his lip. “Mmmm…”

“His girlfriend let us watch it,” Megan announced in a teasing voice.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Kyle said as he started to blush.

“Yuh-huh,” she insisted, “she is!”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“That’s enough,” Sidney commanded. 

“Are ya’ll talkin’ about Cynthia?” John said. The kids nodded and John clicked his tongue. “Well, we’re gonna have to lay some ground rules with her.”

“Honey, come on,” Sidney laughed. “It doesn’t sound that bad. Stupid, but not bad.”

“Exactly, Sid. I don’t wanna risk our kids watchin’ goofy crap on Netflix with the babysitter just because you and I go on date night.” He pointed his spoon at the kids. “Next time she’s over, ya’ll are watchin’ Ken Burns’s documentary on the Roosevelts. There’ll be a quiz afterwards.”

Kyle groaned playfully. “Aww, Pop! Come on!”

“I’m serious,” John said, with a not so serious expression.

“Whatever,” Kyle retorted.

“There’s good stuff in that one, boy. Especially about Teddy Roosevelt.”

“Is he the one who always said Bully?” Megan asked.

“Bully!” Kyle shouted.

Suddenly, the lights browned out and eventually went dark with a loud pop and a clap of thunder.

The lights above the table had gone out and John set down his napkin to head to the kitchen. “Nobody panic. I got this.” He returned with a small oil lantern and a box of matches. He turned the knob on the side of it to raise the wick, and then drew a match. After the wick was lit, he placed the glass onto the base and set it in the middle of the table. “I’ll go down to the basement after supper to check the breakers.”

Their mealtime was quiet for a while until Kyle asked, “Pop? Why do we have to ask God to bless our food all the time?”

John buttered his dinner roll as he answered, “Because we thank God for all the blessings and gifts He gives us. Food is one of those gifts.”

“Yeah, but He didn’t buy the food. You and Dad did.”

John paused in his buttering and gave him a small frown, making Kyle shrug. “I’m not being sarcastic, Pop! Honest!”

John cleared his throat. “Our food comes from the earth and God willed the soil to be fruitful so that our food could grow, therefore ending up in the produce section of the Piggly Wiggly so that your Dad and I could buy it.”

“Yeah, but He doesn’t harvest the food,” Kyle smiled, “farmers do that.”

“God gave the farmers the strength, knowledge, and the discipline to till the soil and harvest the food.”

“Yeah, but He didn’t cook it.”

“Well, that’s even more of a blessing since God gave your Daddy the talent to be such an excellent cook.”

"Yeah, but—“

“Kyle,” Sidney interrupted, “your Pop leads his Wednesday night Bible Study Group and he teaches theology. You’re gonna go in circles with him. Believe me; I know.”

Sidney caught John’s eye and they shared a knowing smile.

“Papa?” Megan said. “Do we still have to take baths tonight?”

“Of course, you do,” John replied. “Tonight’s no different than any other.”

“But it’s dark up there,” she pressed him. “I don’t wanna take a bath in the dark.”

“We’ll put candles in the bathroom so ya’ll can see.”

“Okay, how about this?” Kyle interjected. “What about all the places where the soil isn’t fruitful and people are starving? Does God not bless them? Do they not pray? Is that why they have no food?”

John and Kyle stared at each other until Sidney said, “He’s got ya there, honey.”

“No, not necessarily,” John replied, “but that topic needs to be for another day.”

“Why?” Kyle asked.

“Because any answer I give you right now would be too vague, son.”

“Because you don’t have one, do you?” Sidney asked, slyly.

John sighed and stirred his soup. “Not exactly,” he admitted. The table was silent once more as he took a few bites of his meal. “I will say this, though,” he continued, “it’s okay to question God.” He looked at his husband who was gazing at him with wide, surprised eyes. “It’s true; I do believe that questioning God doesn’t shake your faith; you only want to strengthen it so you ask questions to gain more knowledge. And Kyle, you’re not the only one to ask those questions, either.”

Dinner was silent once more until Sidney could see that the kids had eaten their fill. He stood up and took their soup bowls and went into the kitchen, Bella following close behind him to catch anything that might fall to the floor.

Megan sighed. “Papa, I don’t wanna take a bath in the dark.”

Sidney returned to the table as Megan slid out of her chair. He tickled the back of her neck. “Bella and I will sit in there with you, baby, okay?” He looked at his son. “Kyle, why don’t you go ahead and take your shower?”

“Yes, sir,” Kyle said as he stood from the table. He went over to John. “Pop, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

John put down his spoon and smiled at him. “Why do you think I’d be upset?” he asked.

Kyle shrugged again. “I don’t know…maybe because I ate during the blessing and then I— “

John laughed softly and pulled his son into a hug. “I’m not upset, Kyle,” he assured, “but your questions have made me think. I haven’t asked those kinds of questions in a long time. Don’t be ashamed to ask us anything, you got me?” Kyle nodded and John patted his back. “You’re a good kid. You also stink, so hit the showers.” 

“John, don’t tell our children they stink!” Sidney yelled from the kitchen.

After the kids were bathed, the family settled in the den, a row of candles on the coffee table being their only source of light. Megan sat on the sofa clutching her stuffed grey owl as Sidney brushed her hair. They had skipped on washing it because Megan grew nervous about the continuous rolling thunder outside.

Kyle was sitting on the floor at the end of the coffee table, his arms folded on the edge of it as he lazily stared into one of the wicks. Bella lay beside him licking her paws. 

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yes, Kyle?’

“May I go get your tablet so we can watch something?”

Leaning back in his recliner, John said, “We don’t need your Daddy’s iPad. We watch TV every night. Why don’t we just talk to each other?”

Sidney gave him an amused look. “Okay, then, honey,” he said, “you go first.”

“Nah, I talk all day at school,” John smiled. “Why don’t ya’ll take the floor?”

“Oh!” Megan exclaimed. “I know. Um, Daddy? What did you think of Papa when ya’ll first met?”

Sidney laughed softly as he began to braid her hair. “Well, Bug, I actually couldn’t stand him.”

Kyle lifted his head and looked at him. “You didn’t like him?”

“I don’t know if it was a dislike, per se, but I certainly thought he was annoying,” Sidney explained.

“Where did ya’ll meet?” Kyle asked.

“College. We were in a sociology class together and— “

“What’s that?” Megan asked.

“That’s the study of human behavior in society.”

“Now, that’s a broad generalization of the subject, Sid,” John grumbled.

“And that’s why I found your papa annoying. He always felt the need to correct everyone.”

“Because everyone was wrong.”

Sidney rolled his eyes. “Good Lord, John,” he smiled, “you never missed an opportunity to argue. I remember you made a freshman girl cry!”

Megan’s jaw dropped. “Papa, that’s mean!”

John pulled his recliner back in its upright position to look at them. “It was a debate on the theme of the book we were reading, and she cried because she knew I was right. That’s not my fault! Hell, I don’t even remember what the book was.”

“It was The Stranger by Camus,” Sidney reminded.

“Oh, Jesus, no wonder she cried,” John groaned.

“Well, Pop,” Kyle began, “what about you? What was your first impression of Dad?”

John licked his lips and grinned mischievously. “Honestly? The first thing that popped into my head was that he was too old to be a student. He always came to class wearing blazers and ties. I thought he was a professor that wandered into the wrong lecture hall.”

“Hey!” Megan exclaimed. “Daddy’s not old!”

“Thank you, sweetie," Sidney said, "and excuse me for wanting to look nice, John. At least I didn’t look as if I had just rolled outta bed and put on the dirtiest flannel shirt I could find.”

“Wait a minute,” Kyle said, “if Dad was too old and Pop was too dirty, then what brought ya’ll together?”

John and Sidney looked at each other, puzzled, until John cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well…I guess…even though I thought your dad was a bit snooty…he had a very dry wit that I liked a lot. Took the boredom out of the class.” He glanced at the sofa and saw Sidney smiling at him. “We had the same interests, too, and he grew on me, I guess.”

“What drew me to your papa was his long hair,” Sidney said.

“Oh, God please don’t talk about my hair,” John groaned as he hid his face in his hands.

“Papa had hair??” Megan said, truly astonished.

Sidney gave her a big smile. “Your papa had long, blonde hair that fell to his shoulders.” He paused for effect and the kids’ mouths dropped. “It wasn’t John Travolta’s hair, but it certainly won me over.”

“Is there a picture, Dad?” Kyle asked.

“Of course, there’s a picture!” Sidney replied.

“You can’t show them right now,” John said, “the lights are out.”

“We have flashlights, though,” Megan reminded him.

“We don’t need them,” Sidney said as he picked up his cellphone from the end table.

John’s eye widened. “Oh, baby, come on, please…” he begged.

Sidney searched through his photos until he found what he was looking for. “Aha! Here it is!” he announced. “I found this tucked inside one of my old photography textbooks.”

The kids gathered next to Sidney as they gazed at his phone. It was a picture of a black and white photograph of a man with a strong jaw and bright eyes that looked like they were glowing in the greyscale of the photo. His hair was thick and parted down   
the middle so that his bright locks framed his face perfectly.

“See what I mean?” Sidney asked the kids. “Look at that mane!”

“Pop looks tough,” Kyle said.

Sidney laughed. “He thought he was.”

“I think Papa was handsome!” Megan declared.

“Girl, I’m still handsome,” John said.

She bounced over to him. “I don’t think you look dirty, Papa,” she said.

John pulled her to him, pressed his lips against Megan’s neck, and blew a loud raspberry.

Megan screamed out a laugh which made Bella bark in surprise. She rose from the floor and glared at him, emitting a worried whine. 

John stopped blowing raspberries. “It’s okay, pup,” he assured her. “I’m not hurtin’ the baby.” 

A bright flash filled the room as lightning shot through the sky and thunder clapped loudly over the house. Megan shrieked in real terror this time and threw her arms around John’s neck.

“Oh, oh, now, it’s okay, sweetie,” he whispered as he patted her back.

Kyle noticed that Bella was now out of the room. “Bella?” he called out. “Bella, where’d you go?”

Sidney picked up the flashlight that was next to him on the sofa and stood. He carefully stepped around Kyle and pointed the light up the stairs to find Bella standing at the very top and looking down at them anxiously. “It’s okay, girl,” Sidney said. “Come on back.”

Bella whined at him, but didn’t budge.

“Come on, girl,” Kyle called again. “Everything’s okay.”

Megan slid off John’s lap and stood next to Kyle. “Hey, Bella, come back down here.”

Upon seeing both children, Bella slowly descended the stairs and went up to them to lick their faces. Her tail wagged happily as they laughed. 

“She was just worried about ya’ll,” Sidney concluded. “Good girl, Bella.”

John stood from his recliner and stretched. “It’s ya’ll’s bedtime anyway,” he grunted.

In an instant, Kyle and Megan asked, “Can we sleep in your bed?”

“I knew that was comin’,” Sidney said.

“Are ya’ll really that scared of the storm?” John asked them.

Kyle shook his head, but replied, “I mean…not really, but— “

“I am,” Megan announced. “I hate thunder! Please, Papa?”

“If we’re all in one room, then Bella won’t be scared,” Kyle deduced. “She’ll only have to look in one room.”

Bella usually slept in the hallway between the kids’ bedrooms and when she awoke in the middle of the night, she would go downstairs to the kitchen to drink from her water dish, and then take a quick look in everyone’s rooms to make sure they were still in bed. She would always go back to sleep after what Sidney called her “midnight patrols.”

“Oh, good Lord,” John rolled his eyes, amused. “Yes, because we gotta keep the dog happy, right?”

“Of course, we do!” Megan insisted, surprised that her papa would think otherwise.

“Okay,” Sidney began, “what if she wakes up and goes into her routine and doesn’t find ya’ll in your rooms? She might wake us all up with her barking.”

Bella had done this once, when she got up for her patrol and found that Megan wasn’t in her room. The dog had run into John and Sidney’s room and barked incessantly until Megan came out of the bathroom. When Megan had climbed back into bed, Bella went back to sleep.

“Easy,” Kyle shrugged. “She can sleep in the bed with all of us.”

“How big do you think our bed is, son?” John asked, putting his hands on his hips. 

“We can bring Bella’s bed into your room,” Megan suggested.

Kyle smiled. “Yeah! Good idea! That way we can put it across from ya’ll’s bed and she can see all of us!”

“Ya’ll planned this, didn’t you?” Sidney said.

The thunderstorm continued through the night but they all slept through the worst of it in one king sized bed. Bella’s bed had been placed on the other side of the room in view of them, but after her midnight drink of water, she jumped onto their bed and stretched out at the end of it.

John woke up in the morning to find that the electricity was back on and a dog’s wet nose was pressing into his cheek. “Mornin’, pup,” John whispered.

Bella’s head rested on his shoulder as she lay beside him and upon seeing that she had his attention, her tail thwapped excitedly against the mattress.

She jumped down when he sat up and rubbed his face with his hands. He looked beside him and saw that Sidney was already out of bed and the kids were still fast asleep. 

Megan was on her side with her stuffed owl against her belly, while Kyle was on his stomach with his face buried between his and Sidney’s pillow. They were both snoring softly and John smiled at the sight of them. He quietly got out of bed and put on his robe.

Sidney had arranged his and John’s mugs next to the coffee pot. He picked up his black one and poured a bit of soy creamer in before pouring in the fresh coffee. He took a sip and sighed as he closed his eyes to savor the warm beverage., and he felt John’s arm wrap around his waist from behind him. He moaned as he felt John's lips on the back of his neck.

“Good mornin’,” he said in a deep sleepy voice.

John kissed his neck again. “Mornin’, handsome,” he replied. He nuzzled his nose into Sidney’s hair, making him sigh. “Speakin’ of handsome,” John said, “look what I found.”

Sidney turned to face him but instead saw a picture of a man in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair and round glasses. He wore a cheeky grin as he looked away from the camera.

“Oh my God, John!” Sidney exclaimed. “Where did you find that?” 

“You ain’t the only one with embarrasin’ pictures,” John said. “You know that photo of you at the lake that’s on my side of the bed?”

Sidney rolled his eyes. “Yeah?”

“This charmer’s been hidin’ behind it,” John purred as he smiled proudly. 

“Oh, God, get rid of it,” Sidney begged as he hid his face in his hand.

“Would you get rid of my picture if I told you to?”

“Of course not!”

“Then, no, I’m keepin’ it.”


End file.
